The Media as a Process of Communication - Assignment Example

APPROACHES TO GLOBAL MEDIA In normal processes of life, people send and receive messages in a process referred to as communication. Communication is achieved when messages are send and feedback given. For effective communication to exist there should be a careful selection and understanding of the best media to rely information. Media can therefore be said to be the communication paths by which news messages are dispersed. The messages in this case can be educational, informative, entertainment or news in general. In its totality, media features all forms of broadcasting and its mediums which are either print or non-print. In every corner of the world everybody wants to hear news from other parts so that they can make informed decision pertaining business, travel, entertainment and so on. This is the reason why global media becomes the most reliable platform upon which these and other important issues can be achieved. Global media refers to all the communicational means by which news around the globe are distributed. According to Wilkinson, the deals that involve global media have been in existence for a long period of time. Surprisingly, they have never reached the optimum potential. This can be attributed to the acute absence of clearly coordinated approaches by all the stakeholders who include; clients as the consumers of the content, owners of the media as well as agencies dealing in media issues. (1999, 14) This paper examines the various theoretical approaches that have been tried to ensure universal global media is attained. The Second World War had several ramification effects on several world systems. One of it was the establishment of a bi-polar globe comprising of free capitalism and socialism of states. During the cold war issues that came about, assumptions of global communication flows were largely inculcated. At that time, the idea of free flow symbolized the western nations. The United States in particular was largely against the policies of the communist nations to have state control, suppression and utilization of the media to get propaganda. The theory of free flow was largely championing for the freedom of the media, this meant that the media was at liberty to look for its own content everywhere and anywhere. The media was also free to sell its content to anyone and anyplace. The industry was to have its own control mechanisms and be regulated by its own stakeholders. This theory was widely accepted by media owners since it brought liberty. There was no state control about entry and exit of new firms into the market since they were not to serve the interests of the state. Later this theory was misused by rich nations. The fact that the media had been given freedom to search and sell its content everywhere made the rich nations to use this concept to their advantage. The media stated serving political and economic interest of highly developed nations. Media organizations from these nations would discourage other nations from putting trade barriers and other protectionism measures against them. They would also use this power to discourage them from banning the organizations to collect news from their territories Despite of these weaknesses of the media, its main strength was the fact that it made it serve as a watchdog to democracy. The media was viewed to be highly democratic which gave it a global relevance. The concept of free flow in the media seemed of great help to businessmen. Many of them employed the media in advertising of their products in other countries. The media would provide key information that was relevant for the growth and establishment of business empires in other countries and regions. The media would largely advocate for the western kind of lifestyles, their capitalist systems of governance and values as well as the concept of individualism. In this theory, it was assumed that global information and communications were very essential for the modernization and development of the third world countries. In this understanding, the international media was given the mandate to transfer the concept of modernity to newly developed states. In addition they were to send economic policies of the west to these very nations. Political models of the west were also advanced to the nations of the south and other nations that were gaining independence. This concept portrayed systems of power of the west as the bridge to a better civilized world. It was taken as an incentive for development. This theory had a number of criticisms; first, it had an approach of top to down. This means that nations that were newly independent and underdeveloped could only achieve their development Pathway from their developed counterparts of the west. It undermines the fact that some of the concepts could have negative effects on culture and other important aspects of life of these new states. Secondly, this concept is very narrow in its approach. This means that it only concentrates on few aspects that are deemed of importance for the developed nations. It does not address the wider issues of social-economic importance from the developing nations view. The theory also does not present the media as a neutral party. In contrast, the media is depicted as an interested party to socio-economic and political affairs of the west. It is seen to favor the interest of the west at the expense of the developing nations of the south and other continents. Further it portrays the notion that modernization as represented by the west and traditional ways of governance are not mutually exclusive. Towards the end of the 1960s and the start of the 1970s a new theory of a globalised media was proposed. This new theory had its roots from the Latin Americans; it was proposed so as to challenge the theory of modernization. It was much against the use of the media in advocating for the interests of the west. It fronted for adoption of optional approaches from the South and just the west in particular. It was against other countries having to use products from the West as they undermined their cultures. This related to entertainment e.g. the Hollywood, lifestyle patterns like dressing among many others. Proponents of this theory were of the view that people were abandoning their esteemed cultures to adopt the Western way of life. Western civilization was seen to corrode the some of the important cultures of these nations and therefore there was need for the media to champion alternative interests of the South. The media was to explore and find more content in these countries and sell it to the western countries and other parts of the world. The main weakness of this theory was that it offered to real solutions. It had no specific issues that the media would rely on in championing for the interest of the south and so it did not last long. This theory emphasizes the idea of dependency as the core to elite relationships ( Youngblood 1982 29-56). It explains the concept of having a center and an end or periphery. This theory seemed to advance the idea of space flows as proposed by Castell. In this theory we have nations that make the core or the centre, they are surrounded by nations the form the periphery. They are meant to rely on each other, each nation is important to for the development of the other nation. In order to maintain the relationship of these nations, information is vital. This information is advanced by the media; the main work of the media is to sit is a liaison party. Through this relationship, special institutions are established to link the affairs of the nations. One of the best aspects of this theory is that it enhances the relationships among various nations and the media. It presents the media as a neutral party with the main aim of ensuring equal development between and among countries. Another theoretical approach to globalised media is through the Hegemony theory. In this theory, the position of the states ideology and its power are put into central focus within a capitalist community. In this approach, a group that is dominant over others runs the affairs of the day. The group establishes coalitions that are aimed at helping it in achieving its agenda. The group uses its entire means to ensure that it has monopoly over the control of important systems. It is meant to create content as prescribed by this dominant group. This theory is suppressive to the media since it is not very democratic. It was meant to help the capitalist cement the interests, making it easy for them to achieve them. The work of these industries was to create and advance interests of the capitalist group and use the media to advance them to other groups. This theory had major weaknesses; it led to corrosion of other cultures at the expense of the dominant group. This theory presents the media as a platform for proliferating the ideologies of the capitalists. This is the same thinking that has a great influence over the flow of information globally. This lead to standadization resulting into mass culture leading to the deterioration of other cultures Forum for propagating capitalism ideologies and thinking among recipients These debates have greatly influenced debates of thee Global flow of information and communication Critical theory IS and discourses of globalisation Bibliography Wilkinson, A. 1999, "Limits of a global approach to media", Marketing Week, vol. 22, no. 22, pp. 14-15. Full Text (PDF) Structural Imperialism: An Analysis of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines Comparative Political Studies April 1982 15: 29-56, ROBERT L. YOUNGBLOOD Read More